Josef Yates’ story – Easter Sunday 2009

Well how great is our God?

Can I just take this time to say thanks for coming to the Bridge tonight, even if you have to put up with seeing me.

So why am I here? Why am I going through with this? Well to be honest I am doing this for one person, and he is probably one of most awesome people I’ve met. As well he does so many great things for all of us what some of us might not know about yet. The person who I’m talking about is God. The one and only- the one who can move the mountains, the one who is mighty to save. However I can probably guess that some of you are asking “why are you following him?” and “what are you doing!” and this is what my story is all about. My story begins when I was just a young child, a baby even. I was baptised on this day (Easter Sunday) in a church called Saint Catherine’s where my parents go to church, and all of us made our home there. While I was there my parents always encouraged me to do readings in front of my peers in the congregation and I even became an altar server (which wasn’t my soul aim!) but as time goes on I knew I wasn’t happy there, and I began to fall away from my faith and stopped believing. I then began to put this thought into my head that there is no one that loves me and that if God did love me he’d do something by now.

During this time until the summer 2008 I was your typical 15/16 year old boy- football lover, girls, and not thinking highly of school (them things haven’t really changed!) but I knew that I was putting a front on my life as I going through a break up and some other personal things which nearly dented my own life. Last summer my friend Anna was getting baptised and she motioned it was at the Bridge and it was a Christian place of worship. Then I used to be against it because of past experience – but I went for her sake, but just experiencing her baptism and the bridge itself was mind blowing and I could sense that this could have been a start of something special. Then Saint John’s where running an alpha course where questions of life are put to the people who are on the course. It involves a talk and a discussion. Me being me I went all the funny guy- until I got there and experienced what John was saying and it just shook me that someone could be watching my back.  Then when it came to the last day of alpha we had a praying day, where everyone receives prayer and seeks the holy spirit- However I wasn’t sure what to expect so I went up and I received prayer from 2 pairs of people John McGinley and Else Tarrbitt and Liz Cain and Atlee Deeming . But then as soon as they were working their magic with prayer the next thing I was on the floor with a constant voice going through my head saying “you are home, you have come back, and from now on you are disciple” then was the first of many things to come which i can’t get into with limited time available. But as some of you know my Grandmother from Ireland Mary Shannon died on the 28^th November 2007, and I thought that was it she’s gone- but now I know after an encounter with God that she is in a better place and if we as his children follow his chosen path for us will be honoured to sit with him when our time is up.

I can conclude by saying why The Bridge? Well first it’s easy to get to being a Burbage boy, but I had a sense that I knew that my growing relationship with the great one can get better. I also consider it as my home as well, and the people who come here are always very good to me and I can’t thank them enough for the continued friendship they offer me. Finally I can conclude with why am I doing this? Well now is the time for me to commit my life to God and make a decision to follow him now and seek his guidance- and

Thanks and appreciation.

Josef Yates, a 16 year old who can do quite a good Peter Kay impression

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